Where Did The Flats Go?

Me and my wife decided to take Odie for a ride this afternoon to check out the fishing spots in our area.

It was mid afternoon when we loaded up a couple of rods and headed into Gator Creek Road.

There was a slight breeze on the water and the air temp was in the mid to low 80s.  Not great for topwater fishing but acceptable for swimming a few paddletail baits.

When we drove into Gator Creek, I was surprised to see a lot of dried up mud flats.

  The areas where I had been catching redfish and sea trout a few weeks ago were now drawn down to unfishable trickles.

Undaunted, we drove out of the area and decided to hit Bio Lab Road to see if the flats in that area were fishable.

The water levels in the lagoon were way down and the water was almost crystal clear making sight fishing the thing to do for the rest of the week.

I stopped to fish a couple of spots where I spotted a single fish and picked up an under slot sea trout on the Creme paddletail bait I had on the rod.    I took a a quick pic and released the fish.

The water on the other side of the road where there is normally a few ladyfish, snook, and juvenile tarpon was virtually dried up and fishable only to the waterfowl that were wading the shallows.

A few brown pelicans, roseatte spoonbills, and cormorants were in the area along with the usual shore birds dining on small crustaceans.  We took a few pics of the birds and decided to head to the house for dinner.

I was not thrilled catching only one small sea trout but compared to the other anglers dunking baits along the bank, I seemed to be out fishing them.  

All in all it was a pleasant afternoon in the refuge.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.